My latest science news updates
- Low-allergy wine, true blood, boronic butterflies – The Alchemist learns of low-allergy wines could one day be possible thanks to the discovery of glycoproteins in the tipple that seem to trigger the sniffles and headaches in susceptible drinkers. In analytical news true blood is spotted using infrared and one of the most complex small molecules is approved for treating metastatic breast cancer. In the world of agriculture a new discovery could point the way to boosting a crop plant's defenses against pests without pesticides and a butterfly effect is observed in boron compounds that could lead chemists to the elusive boron-boron triple bond. Finally, more than forty years of dedication to polymerization earns Marino Xanthos a major award.
- Not another planet! – Less than 20 years after confirming the first planet beyond our own solar system, astronomers have bagged exoplanet No. 500. The milestone was reported by Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia, a database compiled by astrobiologist Jean Schneider of the Paris-Meudon Observatory.
- Enigmatic papers could stay in the UK – Papers published by World War II codebreaker Alan Turing have failed to sell at auction – raising hopes they could be kept in the UK.